post apocalyptic

A new sun was rising into the air slowly, brightening the sky. It brought forth the light of morning, and with it, the distant shadows of the looming Bricks. The areas that were unsafe to travel in alone, where danger waited around every corner. And of course, why would they have been safe? In the past, they were great buildings, standing taller than anything should have. Once, they were the symbol of wealth, power, civilization. Now...now they were nothing. Piles of rubble and ash, places where the scavengers, the homeless, the fools went to live. And the very place that they would be traveling into.

Turning her back on the distant sight, a lone figure trudged back up the small incline to the town behind her. It was the only home that she had now, and living here, in Salt, Tally had made a name for herself. She had somehow managed to survive here, and though her life was still simple it was better than the one she had left behind five years ago. She slipped one hand into her pocket (a hole was beginning to rip at the bottom) and gripped the pocket knife she carried there. It had belonged to one of her brothers, and as such it was her comfort item. Even the feel of it reminded her of him and that perhaps he was still out there somewhere, surviving like she was.

As she approached the town, Tally kept her head down, not wishing to draw to much attention to herself. She and five others-the best of the best-were to be leaving in a few hours time. The Fathers of Salt had chosen each of them; four Finders, one Fighter, and one Fixer. Together, they would make the perilous trek through the Salzburg Proper. This was not the dangerous part, it was crossing the Dragon's Causeway that was. And what they were looking for...no one was quite certain. Tally thought they were looking for a rumor. Before she had been asked to join the mission, a murmuring had passed through the Farm about the "falling sky." Or at least that was what the witnesses had said.

"The sky fell in. I saw it." They had claimed. Or she had even heard this account: "Minding my own business..out of nowhere something came crashing down. There ain't nothing round me 'cept the sky, so I reckon that's what it was alright." To Tally, it was nothing more than a rumor and a job. She doubted that they would find this "falling sky" but she was getting paid for a job, and that was all that mattered.

Working with the others however...that would be a different story. She kept to herself mostly, and didn't know many others except her fellow Fighters. And even then, she would prefer to work by herself, she was dangerous with her blades, she didn't need help from anyone else. But for this instance, she supposed that she would have to deal with it. After all, traversing through the "New World" on your own wasn't always that brightest idea. And she had to survive.

Tally drew to the top of the little hill and stopped there, waiting for the others. The appointed meeting time would be drawing near, and she was anxious to discover who would be joining her on the journey. She fiddled with the knife in her pocket, her sharp eyes on the lookout for anyone approaching. A gentle breeze whipped through the morning air, tangling her red hair around her face, making it appear even more messy than normal, but Tally didn't care. Appearances didn't matter to her. All that mattered in this day-no this world-was that you had a good, solid, trusty weapon at your side. And that, Tally had.

Fortune smiles rarely, like a beaten wife - but today she cracked her defiant smirk at Jason. His men were buzzing for hours, officers telling other officers about some event. Something lost that needed finding, something found in need of loosing. The news eventually found him, and about that time, he found himself summoned. He sat dressed for battle in a room full of the ranking men and the woman of three particular units. His, the 119th Reconnaissance Battalion, Major Anna Gibbs. The 11th Surveillance Squadron, Col. Stuart and the 46th Tertiary Militia, Marshal Bradbury. Militia meant the Causeway and that meant people were going to die. Jason looked nervously at his commander and she smiled; she never smiled at work and he was worried even more.


The Marshal of the Militia asked him what he knew about secrets; saying he was an old hand at secrecy was an understatement. Jason knew enough to exercise discretion. He glanced at his commander as she had his dossier passed around the table like a pornographic magazine – pleased nods and clicks of the tongue, a few whistles. The Colonel gave him a glib appraisal of the situation. Something fell from the sky and they were not sure if it was another space rock or something more...sensitive. It was his job to survey, assess and then report to waiting, hungry ears. Jason could do that, after all if he could not follow orders they wouldn't pay him the big money when his promotion was finalised in three months.

He saluted and bowed to everyone involved and turned to leave. His commander excused herself and followed him out. "You know this comes from the top, code black." She said as she closed the door behind her. Jason nodded. "I figured it was big, you can trust me Major" The Commander frowned. "I know. Your trust is not in question, it's just the..." He stopped her. "Anna, I know you can't tell me. So I would feel better if we just went about our duties." She nodded and sighed. "I don't regret what happened." liar "Why would you?" He retorted. "I don't have the concentration to focus on the mission, you and your wonderful husband." Jason saluted; she saluted back and opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it. "If I don't make it back just tell Ellen about me." He said. Anna smiled. "She knows all about her mother's best soldier." Jason looked at the woman. "You know what I mean, tell her about her father." She scoffed. "Chris is her father, you were...recreation," She sighed and continued. "If somehow you had the soldiers and the political backing to manoeuvre against a senator you don't have anything that could trump the blood relative of the crown."

Jason frowned. "A distant cousin of a king's third bastard son," She rolled her eyes as he continued. "Downplay how you feel about me all you like but excuses do not suit you. I remember a woman who took what she wanted and damn the consequences." Anna touched his arm and casually glanced down both sides of the hall. She hugged him, burying her face in his chest. "I was intemperate in my youth, a luxury I cannot afford at the present." He held her. "You love me." He said. She glanced up at him and smiled. "You love me too." Major Gibbs brushed his arms away and walked back to the door to the meeting room. "You leave in two hours. Dismissed Lieutenant."

As a Pathfinder he was ready to go at a moment's notice. After packing some tins of food and securing his weapons twenty minutes had passed and he was ready to go. He'd leave early and clear his head. A leisurely stroll to his destination and to what one could only assume his ultimate death. The air was crisp, the sun peeking through the wispy morning clouds of a piss-poor sunrise. There was already a figure on the hill, slight, perhaps female. It was going to be interesting to see the personal involved with this job.

Morwen grunted as she jammed her last large textbook in her duffle bag. With a heavy sigh she plopped down on the floor and looked around her room, then back up to her boyfriend David.

"The time has come, hasn't it?" With a slow nod she reached her hand up to grab his, pulling him gently down to the floor beside her. "You remember what we discussed, right?" She asked, her dark eyes fluttering up reluctantly to meet his. He didn't speak, he said it all in a somber nod. He knew their time was up. She didn't know if this was a mission she would be returning from and the felt it best to end things now to protect themselves from emotional drama.

"Thank you...for everything," Morwen whispered with a faint smile. David kissed the top of her forehead gently and brought her back to her feet. "This is an honor, don't keep your new 'friends' waiting." She scoffed and shook her frayed locks from her eyes. "We'll see if they'll be calling me that. I'm sure 'friendship' isn't on anyone's list of priorities right now." After a small moments rest she was already back up on her feet, slinging two heavy bags over her shoulder, gazing through the dusty cracks on her window in the direction of the meeting point that wasn't too far.

"Shall I walk you..."

She raised a hand to cut him off before he could finish speaking. "No, David, I need to do this alone."

Not another word slipped from her mouth, her goodbye was communicated by the faintest of smiles and with that she swept out of the room, out of the house, and down the dirt path that would lead her directly to the others. Morwen was ready for whatever waited for her, she firmly believed that her brains and ability to adapt would keep her alive, if nothing else. She didn't know what kind of people would be waiting atop that hill but she was interested to find out. She didn't expect social companionship out of such a dire situation, but it would be nice to talk to someone other than her other engineer buddies, she was very passionate about seeing things from different perspectives.

A small cloud of smoke trailed behind her with every step through the haze, her eyes narrowed in focus, familiar places rapidly disappearing behind her as she put more emphasis in her stride. She was ready. She had food. A few weapons, various tools and usable objects, and her books that provided her with a wealth of knowledge and comfort. One shadow took form in the distance, as she drew closer she determined it was a female. A turn in her stomach caused her to pick up her pace even more, ready to embark, ready to meet them, ready to go. Getting closer she saw someone else heading for the top of the hill, a man.

With one last long and determined step she was now beside the woman, examining her excitedly. Without hesitation she extend her hand, "Morwen. I fix things." Socializing was not her area of expertise...